Phoenix
by Empress Assassin
Summary: Karai Katsgusuchi is the tough, sarcastic, mysterious, cold but secretly kind-hearted and nomadic sister-in-law of Kakashi Hatake.What happens when she shows up one night at his home injured and he forces her to stay in Konoha after making a deal with her? What if she meets and joins team 7,and in the process some of her secrets come to light? (Eventual Sasuke/OC)
1. What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

The night air in Konaha was colder that I ever remembered it. I held my side in pain as blood slipped through my hands and the dizziness was already beginning to come into effect. I kept walking towards the place that I hadn't visited in about two years, hoping my brother in law had bandages I could use to wrap my wounds as well as some food.

I struggled to get the spare key but I was finally able to find it under the mat and slide it into the lock. I stumbled inside quietly, attempting not to wake Kakashi in the middle of the night. I somehow made it to the kitchen fridge, only to find it had few contents other than water and sake. I reached out to take a bottle of sake since it could keep me awake long enough to bandage my wounds when I felt a cold kunai being held to the back of my neck.

"Make any sudden movements and I strike. Now, who are you and what are you doing in my home?"

His voice was unusually cold, probably cranky from having to be woken up so late, but otherwise I could easily recognize Kakashi's voice. I chuckled weakly and slowly turned around, my bangs moving aside revealing my dull red eyes.

"Long time no see Kaka-baka, ya miss me?" As soon as he heard the nickname that only I had for him he lowered his weapon, but almost at the same time my knees went weak from the blood loss and I collapsed into Kakashi. He quickly threw the Kunai onto the nearby counter and caught me, probably seeing I was covered in blood and that a good percentage of it wasn't mine. The last thing I heard before passing out was Kakashi calling out to me repeatedly as he carried up some stairs. Then the world around me went black.

The first thing to reach my eyes when I woke up was the blinding rays of sunlight that shined from the window. I opened my eyes slowly once I got used to the light and took in my surroundings. I realized that I was in Kakashi's room. I moved to sit up straighter and also realized that all my wounds had been cleaned and wrapped tightly in gauze. my ninja shirt had been changed into a regular t-shirt, but I still had my shorts on and my open toed boots were in another corner of the room.

I tried to get out of the bed but winced when the movement pulled against my wound. Just as I was able to sit completely Kakashi walked in holding a tray of food.

"Good you're up. We need to talk Karai" he said putting the tray in front of me. I rubbed my eyes.

"What time is it exactly?" I asked my voice soft from sleep.

"Its after 11, do you want to tell me why you showed up in the middle of the night the way you did last night?" His tone was scolding and I sighed

"I was on my way here and I stopped to rest for a while when I was ambushed by some rouges. I managed to take out most of them but one escaped and I was injured in the process. Any other questions?"

"Yeah actually. Where have you been for two years? No letter, no visit, nothing to indicate that you're alive and okay. I've been worried sick about you, so what happened? You used to come back here or send me something every 6 months." He asked.

"I've been busy "was the simple reply that left my mouth as I reached for a muffin on the tray.

"You're staying here for a couple of months."

It wasn't a question but rather a cold hard statement that made me groan in annoyance. I was from a clan of nomads that was destroyed when I was still young and I was used to being free to go where I pleased. You could imagine how this didn't sit well with me.

"Oh come on Kakashi, I was only planning to visit for a day or two. And you know you're the only person I know from this village. Besides you know how the people in this village treat those who are different. I could only imagine how they treat the jinchuriki of the nine tails."

"Well I'm not really giving you a choice " he said, then sighed when he saw the dead on glare I had set on my face. " look, there might come a time when this could happen again but i won't be there to fix you up again. I just want you to stay for about 6 months so that you can get familiar with some of the residents and learn some things. Then if you want to leave after that I won't stop you or ask this of you ever again. Do we have a deal?"

This sure as hell was not a part of my plans but for not seeing him for so long I guess I owe him that much to stay. Besides, if this would stop him from asking me to stay then I guess I could try.

"Fine I'll stay. But if you try to keep me here after my six months are up I will tie you to a chair and burn all your perverted books. Then I'll kick your ass with every ounce of power I've got. Understand?" I said. Kakashi sighed and walked towards the door.

"Perfectly. Just make sure you're here when I get back of else if I find you trying to leave the village I'll just drag you right back here. We clear?"

"Crystal. But where are you going?"

"I have a team of students from the academy I need to meet with. I was already planning to be late but I need to go now. I'll be back in the evening" with that he closed the door and left. I sighed for what seemed like the 200th time and my stomach growled. I started eating as one question kept flashing in my head.

"What in kami's name did I get myself into?"

A/n- thanks for reading chapter one. Glad if you like it, sorry if you don't, and please favorite follow or comment to see more!


	2. The Mismatched Trio Known as Team 7

I had gotten so bored of Kakashi's house by evening I even resorted to reading one of his icha icha paradise books which for some reason didn't manage to gross me out. All my wounds had managed to heal completely and at this point I was desperate for something to do. As soon as I heard the door open and close again I nearly tackled my brother in a hug.

"Finally you're back! I am so friggin bored. Please tell me you have something to do?" I asked desperately.

"Well since you have no other clothes her and you should get familiar with the village, I guess I can take you shopping. I need to get a new icha book anyway" Kakashi said. Normally I hated shopping but I took it as a chance to get out of Kakashi's cramped excuse for a house. I practically dragged him out of the house despite the fact that I had no idea where I was going whatsoever. About two hours later we were both somewhere in the shopping area of the village. I already had about two bags of clothes including a ninja outfit and Kakashi got his perverted book.

"So how did the meeting go? Are these guys different from any of the others you've tested?" I asked. I had been around when he did the team test with his groups of students a few times, and watched all of them fail.

"This group is an interesting trio. Probably the most dysfunctional bunch I've ever had to deal with but I have hope for these guys" he said and I snorted.

"If you believe in them that much then this is something I have to see. You don't mind if I tag along tomorrow do you?"

"Not at all. In fact I have an even better idea. But before that happens I need to register you as a resident of the village and as a genin. I'll bring you to the hokage's office first thing in the morning"

"as long as the village doesn't disregard my right as a nomad to leave the village without being considered an official rouge I am okay with that"

The next morning –

"So... you would like to become a shinobi of the leaf. Miss Katsgusuchi" asked the gruff voice of the Hokage as he eyed me with a mix of suspicion and interest, and I hesitantly nodded. Kakashi stood silently by the door and I stood awkwardly in front of the hokage's desk.

"Karai Katsgusuchi, also known as the Phoenix. You have made quite a name for yourself over the years young lady, being a child from two now obsolete clans and an especially talented girl at that, are you sure you wish to become apart of the leaf?"

I looked briefly at Kakashi before responding

"I understand the importance of this choice Lord Hokage. But as long as you regard my rights as a member of a nomadic clan that I can leave the village if I please I will have no issue with joining this village." I stated firmly. I wasn't a bit intimidated by this old man despite the fact he was supposedly the most powerful ninja in the village.

"Very well, but on the condition that you do not attempt to align yourself with another village as a ranked shinobi. If you do you will be considered a rouge and an enemy of the leaf. Understood?" he said and I nodded again.

"You may leave, but I would still like to have a word with Kakashi for a minute"

I raised an eyebrow but still left the room and stood outside the door. A minute or two my brother walked out.

"So what did he want?" I asked as we walked out of the building and towards the training field

"He was just asking if you would be living with me and other things, but I took care of it. We should get going, the group is probably waiting"

"May I ask when did you tell your team to go to the field?"

"5 am."

"And it's after 8… wanna make them wait even longer and get breakfast?" I asked grinning evilly.

"You are a cruel little girl… but I knew there was a reason I like having you around. Let's eat."

Two hours later…

I smiled slightly when I came across the sight of the familiar field in the distance. I didn't let my brother tell me about the new students because I wanted to see what they were like for myself. So you could tell I was interested when I saw three very different looking people my age. One was a messy haired blonde boy, then a pink haired girl who I just knew on the spot was going to annoy me and then there was this black haired guy who just looked emotionless. They were so out of it they barely noticed us arrive.

"Morning everyone. Ready for your first day?"

As soon as he said that the blonde boy and girl jumped up from their sitting position and started yelling at him.

"Hey you're late!" they yelled at him. I was behind Kakashi so they didn't see me.

"Sorry. A black cat crossed our path and we had to take the long path"

"Hold on a sec, we?"The pink haired girl asked confused. And that's when I moved from behind my brother and made my presence known

"Hey there!" I said grinning widely just to throw them off. I found it easier to trick my opponents into thinking I'm not strong or a threat if I acted a lot more innocent and naive than I actually was.

"Before we start, why don't you three re-introduce yourselves?"Kakashi suggested

And the blonde was the first one to jump up.

"Hi! I'm Naruto Uzumaki and I'm going to be Hokage someday!" he said and I immediately knew he was going to be the hyperactive one. I mentally cringed, but kept the smile on my face.

"I'm Sakura Haruno, nice to meet you" the girl spoke up. I could tell the smile on her face was fake,but it didn't bother me since she looked like the weakest of the three.

The other boy and the coldest looking one of the three looked at me with narrowed eyes. I had a feeling he had figured out the whole 'cheery hyperactive girl' act was fake, but he wasn't about to call me out on it.

"Sasuke Uchiha" I didn't show it but I was a little surprised that he was the clan survivior, but otherwise his voice matched his distant and slightly arrogant exterior. Overall Kakashi was right about how different this squad was, but he had more faith in them than I did.

"I'm Karai, Karai Katsgusuchi! nice to meet you all!" I said smiling widely

Kakashi pulled out an alarm clock from one of his pockets and set it on a stump

"Alright, now that we've gotten past the introductions. The timer's set for noon" he pulled out two bells from the same pocket.

"Your assignment is very simple. All you have to do is take these bells from me, that's all there is to it. But since we have an unexpected addition, I've decided to make the odds a little more… interesting"

With that said he separated the two bells and threw one to me, which I caught it. I grinned on the inside, this was the first time he has actually let me participate.

"If you can't get a bell from either of us by noon you go without lunch. You'll be tied to those posts and you'll watch while I eat my lunch in front of you"

I laughed when almost on cue all three of their stomach's growled in unison.

"Wait a minute, there's three of us. How come there are only two bells?" Sakura asked and since I already knew the instructions I cut in

"Well that way at least one of you will end up tied to a post and ultimately disqualified for being unable to complete the mission. Said person will be sent back to the academy" I said giggling

"But then again all three of you could flunk out too. You can use any weapons including shuriken, however if you're not prepared to kill us you won't be able to take the bells." Kakashi finished

"But that's too dangerous for you sensei!"Sakura exclaimed a little too dramatic for my liking and I swiftly rolled my eyes before anyone could notice as Naruto laughed at Kakashi.

"You couldn't even dodge that stupid eraser, and she's just a little kid, what could she possibly do ?"

My eyes narrowed and I felt the air around me start to get warmer, but I quickly forced myself to calm down and restrain from thumping the blonde in the head. Noticing my irritation Kakashi continued

"Class clowns are usually the weakest links. It's safe to say that you can easily ignore them. Bottom of the class losers."

I could tell with each word that came out of my brother in laws mouth Naruto grew more and more aggravated, and as soon as he stopped Naruto snapped. Pulling out a kunai he charged at Kakashi, but only I was able to see Kakashi react. Before Naruto's teammates could even react Kakashi had both of Naruto's arms behind his head, the kunai in one of his hands barely inches from the back of his head.

" Don't be in such a hurry, I didn't say start yet-"

I rolled my eyes as Kakashi let go of Naruto , who was still irritated, and it seemed that it finally dawned on the three academy graduates that they were dealing with a strong jonin and not just some lazy ninja.

"But, you came at me with the full intention of destroying me so… I'm actually started to like you guys"

They all seemed to smirk at that, so I decided that was my cue to disappear.

"Well then , now you all know what to do, Its time I take my leave" I said smiling and in an instant I was where the forest area began. I grinned devilishly when I saw Naruto and Sakura's jaws drop to the floor. Even Sasuke and Kakashi had a trace of surprise on their faces.

"Hey! How'd you get over there so fast!?" Sakura asked surprised.

"Now now Sakura not everyone is who they say they are. Good luck to all three of you by the way, you'll need it especially if Kakashi and I are involved. If there's one thing you three will learn today it's that between my brother and I your sensei is the lesser of two evils" I cryptically responded before vanishing into the trees. I didn't move far enough that I couldn't to see or hear them but they didn't know that. All I did as Kakashi began the test was tie the bell to my wrist and smirk.

"this is going to be fun" I chuckled


	3. Not So Bad After All Part 1

Naruto may be an idiot, but man the kid's got some guts.

I mean while Sasuke and Bubblegum (that's my new nickname for the girl) actually had the sense to go and hide, this short boy decided to have the smartass idea to challenge his sensei head on. The minute I saw what he was going to do, I groaned.

'This kid is something else, he is so going to get his butt kicked to high heaven' I thought shaking my head.

"YOU AND I RIGHT NOW FAIR AND SQUARE BRING IT!" Naruto practically demanded.

All Kakashi did at that time was look with a deadpan expression at Naruto.

"You really are a weird one aren't you?"

"The only weird thing here is you're haircut!" The blonde started charging towards his sensei but stopped when Kakashi reached into his pouch.

"Taijutsu-the physical art" Kakashi recited. And just when I thought he was going to fight ….

… He pulled out his god dam icha icha paradise.

-_- Cue the face palm moment.

It didn't take much for me to realize that he only pulled it out so he could anger Naruto so he could get him mad for not being taken seriously, but I honestly didn't know who I wanted to hurt more for being the bigger idiot.

I watched boredly as Kakashi explained to the confused boy and Naruto started trying to hit him when he got aggravated. Eventually when Naruto tried to deliver a punch to the face, Kakashi dodged and got behind him.

"Don't always let your enemy get behind you all the time" he scolded all the while he formed his hands into the sign of the tiger. I raised an eyebrow and silently moved closer, making note of where Bubbles and Sasuke were before so.

"Naruto get out of there quick! He's going to destroy you!"Sakura exclaimed. I'd give her a point for at least attempting to somehow help her teammate, but then id minus two for not only not trying to back him up , but for letting the "enemy" know her location and not even moving.

"Too late. Secret finger jutsu… 1000 years of death!" Kakashi yelled

then I saw what he was going to do.

'no no no No No NO NO!' my brain chanted ,but then again what would you think if you saw your own sibling- in-law poke his fingers into someone's butt, sending the poor boy skyrocketing into a lake that just happened to be in proximity. It's official when I say that Kakashi is the bigger moron. I didn't even bother staying hidden at that point, I appeared next to Kakashi, as he re-opened his book.

"You know, I don't think there's a better way than that to make someone think you're a pedo" I said smacking the back of his head

Before he could say two ninja stars flew out of the water from where Naruto landed. Kakashi caught them with ease and I looked boredly as Naruto rose out of the water.

"What are you doing now? You know you won't get lunch unless you get a bell from one of us."

"I know I know you told us already!"Naruto exclaimed clearly frustrated

"You know for someone you wants to become Hokage you look a little wobbly there" I commented

"I know i know, but how can i fight when i'm basically starving to death!" Naruto exclaimed. Ignoring him Kakashi walked away

(F.f. to after Sasuke attacks with shuriken . Karai doesn't really do much up until this point and I honestly don't want to bore you guys any longer)

I moved just in time when several shuriken came hurling at Kakashi and I. He had made a shadow clone while I was fast enough to dodge the ninja weapons hurled at me. As soon as they past me I looked towards who had thrown them, noticing Sasuke's figure racing away from his previous spot. I moved swiftly and chased after him, leaving Kakashi to deal with Naruto. He must have noticed, because not long after he started running through more complex paths to throw me off his trail though I purposefully slowed down how fast I was going.

"You know Uchiha, I give you props. You have better reflexes than the other two and you're not as naïve as they are either" I said as soon as I was in his hearing range. "Unfortunately for you there's only one problem, you may be fast…"

I paused my sentence and sped up, swiftly vanishing from behind appearing in front of him. I smirked at his surprised expression that quickly faded into angered annoyance

"…But I'm faster"

My fist met his hands as he attempted to block my punch, but the force I had put behind the blow still sent us both crashing through the concealed trees onto the open field. I was able to land on my feet, and so was he not too far in front of me.

"So you've finally dropped the act" he said and all I did was smirk

"Who ever said it was an act Sasuke-kun" I cooed, drawing out the kun just to annoy him, "Now since time will soon be up and I'm just plain bored, you're just gonna have to fight me to get this bell" I continued, pulling up the sleeve of my arm warmer to reveal the cleverly concealed bell. It seems that seemed to trigger his urge to fight.

If you had seen the fight you would have probably thought it was some kind of weird dance. Whenever he would try to land a blow, I was able to swiftly dodge and counter. it was only taijutsu, my reason being I didn't want any of them to know what I could do just yet, he on the other hand must have been holding back because he thought I was weaker than I acted, but I wasn't about to make that assumption. I finally had enough, and when he aimed another punch I grabbed his arm, and with my free hand struck at the pressure point in his neck, causing his entire body to go into temporary paralysis. Surprise and frustration overtook his features as I let go of him and he realized what I had done.

"Sorry Sasuke-kun, you were fun but I would like to attend to some other business" I said in my fan girl persona smiling. "However next time, if you do by some miracle get a bell, I suggest never underestimating your opponent, better to over prepare than under you know"

I left him that way, and not long after that I found bubbles lying on the ground unconscious.

'It's because of fangirls like her that female shinobi aren't taken seriously' I thought disapprovingly

Perhaps if she had any significant strengths or abilities I wouldn't be so harsh, but so far the only thing she's proven to be a dead weight damsel in distress. I left her there, but didn't have to go far to find my brother, who was leaning against a tree reading is icha icha paradise.

"I know you want these students to think you're not taking them seriously, but did you really have to bring that book?" I asked annoyed a little.

"Well I needed something to keep me entertained. After all Sakura passed out after falling under a simple genjutsu, Naruto keeps falling for the same tricks, and Sasuke's…"

"…paralyzed from the neck down for another 60 seconds. He'll most likely go after whoever he finds first, more likely you" I finished for him.

"You really have gotten a lot stronger than the last time I saw you. Do you think you can handle Naruto?He's very persistent"

" Don't worry, I can handle him"

To be continued…..


	4. Not So Bad After All Part 2

Turns out I showed up just in time to find that Naruto had escaped and was heading to where the boxed lunches were. For cheating I decided to give him the scare of his life. I hid within the trees and made about five more shadow clones

"Ladies, let's have some fun" I grinned and they mirrored my mischief.

Third pov

A mischievous laughter echoed through the training field as Naruto sat with one of the boxed lunches on his lap.

"Well Kakashi sensei said if we don't get a bell, then we don't get any lunch, but if I eat my lunch now then there's nothing he can do. It's chow time!"

Dark clouds appeared over Naruto as he paused, feeling an eerie chill crawl down his spine.

"What are you doing Naruto-san?" a soft, voice whispered in his ear. With the equivalent of deer caught in headlights look he slowly turned around, and was met by Karai with what was by far the creepiest looking expression he had seen on her face (picture above) which as enough to cause him to jump away in surprise and fear. Unfortunately he backed into another clone with the same eerie smile.

"where are you going Naruto? I just want to play"

In an instant more clones appeared surrounding the blonde and closed in on him. Then they started to mutter words in unison that just seemed to creep him out more.

"Oh pitiful shadow lost in the darkness, Bringing torment and pain to others, Oh damned soul wallowing in your sin…" they stopped there, and everything went silent when a soft voice whispered into his ear from behind.

"Perhaps… it's time to die"(A/N now that I got the jigoku shoujo joke out the way let's continue)

It took almost all of Karai's will power not to laugh during all of this, but if you had asked her, the look of horror dread and fear that had been plastered upon Naruto's face was so worth it. The eyes of the clones that surrounded and overwhelmed him had changed, and before he could comprehend what had happened he fell unconscious (a/n-this part will be explained a little later)

When Naruto woke up, he realized he was tied up completely to a post. He tried to shift or somehow loosen his binds when he heard a soft giggle not too far from him. He looked to his left to see Karai, laying on the grass and gazing at the clouds in the sky.

"Hey what's the big idea!?" Naruto yelled at the female shinobi. She shrugged.

"Well I had to keep you from getting a bell Naruto-san. And besides, you tried to cheat and eat a lunch ahead of time and I couldn't let you get away with that now could I?" she smiled

'That baka should have seen it coming' Karai really thought

Then the bell rang, signifying the end of the test.

"Well would you look at that, I guess time's up. Sorry Naruto –san, better luck next time"

Naruto continued to struggle as his teammates and sensei returned the original spot. Karai was secretly relieved she no longer had to act like a hormonal fan girl, and decided to let Kakashi do his thing. For another time as Sakura and Sasuke sat at the opposite sides if Naruto their stomachs growled in unison.

"Uh oh, stomachs growling I see, well that's too bad… oh by the way about this exercise? Well I've decided, I won't send any of you back to the academy"

You know it was that moment here I almost felt bad for those three. They all looked surprised at first.

"What? I passed? All I did was faint and fall over… do you get points for that?" Bubblegum asked probably what I consider the dumbest question

I had ever heard.

Naruto and Bubbles started to celebrate. Even Sasuke had this smug smirk on his face, though not as happy as the other two but satisfied. From the corner of his eye Kakashi looked at me and gave me a subtle nod

"Yes,all three of you…Are being dropped from the program. Permanently."

Faster than an anchor in still shallow water, all of the joy in their expressions dropped, replaced with dread. Like I said I almost felt bad but at the same time it really was entertaining.

"D-drop us from the program?! That means that we can never become ninja! You said if we couldn't take the bells we would be sent back to the academy! You can't just change your mind and kick us out why would you do that?!" Naruto yelled speaking out his anger

"Because you three think like a no good bratty bunch of kids, that's why" Kakashi continued

Sasuke's temper pretty much snapped at that point and attacked Kakashi, but unfortunately for him he lost that fight pretty quickly and was pretty much trampled under him.

"You think it's all about you" My brother scolded the Uchiha

"Hey LET GO OF SASUKE! YOU CANT JUST STEP ON HIM LIKE HE'S SOME BUG!" Bubbles yelled like the angry fangirl she was.

" Oh just shut it Haruno, you might just learn something from all of this" I snapped at her, for the first time since the beginning showing my true personality to the three. I was satisfied with the shocked looks I had received from Bubbles and Naruto, but Sasuke just looked plain annoyed.

"What the- so you're not-?" Naruto tried to ask still shocked from my sudden attitude shift, I rolled my eyes and finished is sentence.

"An annoyingly hyper and sweet fan girl who would rather go flirt with boys and do all of the girly shiz most asinine girls my age would do, instead of doing something useful? NOT in any lifetime of mine." I huffed

"So you tricked us?!" Naruto glared at me

"Obviously, that was the point from the start baka; by the way, I'm 14, so you don't really have the right to call me 'kid'."

"You don't know what it means to be a ninja, you think it's a game don't you?" Kakashi lectured and the three went silent, "Why do you think you were put into three man squads, did you consider that question for one moment?"

"I-I don't know what you mean" bubbles stuttered

"He means none of you ever took the time to ever figure out the entire point of this exercise , not even close" I added

"What it's about?"

"Yes, that is what determines whether you pass or fail"

Bubbles tried to make up some excuse but I just tuned her out at that point, and Kakashi kept trying to get them to think about why they were in teams. That's when he finally told them the point of the test and pointed out their selfish flaws, explaining how he had purposefully set them up against each other by using two bells. I didn't really say anything at this point because to be honest I myself was not a fan of teamwork. That tends to be the case when the majority of your life you've had to learn to fight and survive on your own.

"- when individuals put themselves above the squad, this can lead to failure, and death, for example …" Kakashi pulled out a kunai from his pouch and held it to Sasuke's neck

"Sakura, kill Naruto or Sasuke dies and Karai kills you"

It was then I just looked at him.

"You know as much as I would like to do that I would appreciate not being dragged into the scenario" I sighed boredly as Naruto and Sakura openly panicked. You know just for curiosity's sake I would have liked to have known who Sakura would choose to save. I would feel bad for Naruto in that situation.

"Mind if I help you wrap this up?"

"Be my guest"

I then looked to the three as Kakashi let go of Sasuke.

"This is the kind of thing that can happen on a mission. The enemy will take a hostage and leave you with an impossible choice that either way is bound to end in tragedy. With every task or mission your life is on the line and your enemy will not hesitate to end it"

Kakashi walked towards the K.I.A stone while talking about how his comrades and other heroes whose names were carved into it. Though not having any personal ties with the list I understood the ones Kakashi had with it and let him say what he needed to without interruption.

"Alright I'll give you one more chance to get the bells after lunch. However it's going to be a lot more difficult this time around. You'll have three hours to get a bell, eat lunch and build up your strength, but don't give Naruto any; it's his punishment for breaking the rules" Kakashi said directing the last part at a growling starving Naruto

"And if anyone tries to feed him, they will immediately fail. I make the rules, you follow them…got it?" he verified, and made sure the three understood before leaving them to eat.

I sat high up in a tree with my eyes closed and in a position of meditation as Sasuke and Bubbles continued to eat. Naruto was still tied up and his stomach kept growling constantly. Being the stubborn boy he was Naruto kept on denying that he was hungry, but his stomach said otherwise. Kakashi sat across from me on another branch.

"Do you think they'll figure it out?" I asked Kakashi softly as I opened my eyes

"Not too sure, they have some potential but there's still a chance they might not learn anything from today" Kakashi said thoughtfully.

I nodded in agreement before looking to the three and observed their conversation. Then my eyes widened when it was Sasuke who was the first to offer Naruto his lunch

'Well what do you know; these kids have a shot at being ninja after all'

I let the smallest of smiles appear onto my face as Sakura; to her dismay was made to feed Naruto due to me tying him up earlier. I looked to Kakashi and saw he had a similar look on his face, before transporting himself in-front of the three in a thundering explosion of wind and dust. He started to yell at them as if he was angry, and it was kinda funny seeing their expressions. Yes if you haven't noticed I'm kind of sadistic, it's both a gift and a curse to me so I don't care that much about it. Surprisingly, the genin defended themselves pretty well, justifying their claim by using Kakashi's own words against him.

"You pass"

The clouds and wind vanished, leaving behind three very confused 13 year old wondering just what had occurred.

"Wait what?" Sakura asked confused. I jumped in next to Kakashi chuckling.

"You three heard him. You. Passed." I smiled

"But how did we pass?" Bubbles asked my brother

"You three are the first I've ever tested to pass. The others did exactly as I said, they couldn't think for themselves. A ninja must see through who break the rules are scum that may be true. But, those who abandon their friends are worse than scum"

Naruto got teary eyed at that, and even Sasuke had a smirk onto his face. He may have claimed to have wanted to feed Naruto just so he could be efficient in a fight, but I had a feeling there was more to the seemingly cold hearted Uchiha's intentions (a/n-not in that way you NaruSasu sheep).

"You know I'll admit that I was skeptical of you three at first, with such conflicting personality's I had though this would be a total disaster. But … you three learn quickly, and you have potential, both as individuals and as a team. I don't think I would mind working with you guys so much." I added

"The exercise is over, everyone passes. Squad seven starts its first mission tomorrow" Kakashi concluded the test "Oh and by the way, from this point Karai is now a member of team 7 member and your comrade. "

Even I was surprised but I decided not to say anything, it was better that being on a squad with complete strangers, besides it looked like the only had a problem with it was Haruno. It even looked as if i had gained some respect from Sasuke, however little it was. Kakashi said we could all go home at that point, and all of us except for Naruto started to leave

"I KNEW IT, THIS ALWAYS ENDS UP HAPPENING TO ME!" I could hear Naruto's voice echoing in the distance as I followed my brother back to his house

"This might not be so bad after all" I smiled softly as the sun set in the distance.

Meanwhile, in a unknown location- Third POV

A running figure cursed angrily as he ran towards the place he was told to go once he and his men had completed their assignment . Now; covered in both his comrades and his own blood, he stormed into the clearing and towards the cloaked figure that was to meet with him there.

"What is the meaning of this Kabuto?! You told us all we had to do was spy on the little brat and fight her , and we would get the pay we deserved. you didn't say anything about her being the Phoenix!" he spat out furiously.

The person revealed to Kabuto merely chuckled, making the ninja for hire even more furious.

"I didn't think you would survive an encounter with the girl. She has a reputation , one that you and your team should have done your research on to know that all of her abilities combined she is quite a dangerous opponent to go against, even when she is not at full potential. How did you manage to make it this far anyway?" Kabuto asked curiously.

"W-when most of my team were taken out I was able to give a good blow to the stomach with my blade. However she was also able to drain a lot of my energy and chakra with one stupid justu. I ran off before she was able to inflict any fatal blows." The man panted out as the left over adrenaline began to fade and the impact of his injuries caught up with him.

"Well, unfortunately for you my friend, lord Orochimaru does not take cowardice lightly, and you were better off letting the girl end your life. Orochimaru knew none of you would be left alive and simply wanted to know how far the Katsgusuchi girl's abilities have progressed. You being able to injure her may have damaged the results, and for that you must be punished"

Sound ninja appeared from the trees and stalked towards the injured rouge. Realizing what was going to happen, he started backing away only to trip from under his own feet

"No NO please spare me! We've done all that you've asked just let me go!" he continued to beg for his life , the last thing he saw being the back of Kabuto's cloaked form as he calmly walked away as the rouge was overcome by the ninja who attacked swiftly.

A shrill scream echoed against a crimson sunset that faded into silent night.


	5. Journey To The Mist

I didn't become friends with any of my comrades right away. In fact, I barely spoke to any of them unless it was necessary or I caught Naruto or Bubbles giving me strange or suspicious looks. I didn't blame them, they didn't know anything about me other than my name or that I was Kakashi's little sister in law. But that began to change when we actually went on our first real mission. It all began when we returned to the hokage's office with Tora...

"Oohhhh my poor little Tora! Mommy was soo worried about you you naughty little fuzzykins-"

I watched, keeping my complete and utter horror to myself as the feudal lord's wife practically smothered the poor cat to the point where I was pretty sure it could be counted as animal abuse. Naruto on the other hand was completely content with the cat's treatment.

"Stupid cat! He deserves to get squashed!" Naruto laughed

"I may be somewhat of a sadist, but now that's just cruel Naruto" I deadpanned at him for laughing at the tortured cat

"Well no wonder he ran away" Sakura muttered just low enough that the lady didn't hear. When the daimyo's wife left, the hokage started to once more list off infantile tasks that our team had the possibility of choosing from. That is until Naruto interrupted.

"No No No! I want a real mission! Not this baby stuff!" he exclaimed

Though my expression was unreadable I was sighing in relief on the inside. I was pretty much fed up with these trivial assignments that I had been forced to go on with my team, and if this led to a change in scenery I would gladly go with it, and I'm sure Sasuke and Bubbles were thinking along the lines of the same thing.

"How dare you! You're just a genin with no experience! Like everyone else you start with simple missions to develop your skills and prove yourself!" the guy next to the Hokage I heard Kakashi call by the name Iruka yelled back.

"Babysitting is not a mission! It's just a stupid-!" Naruto started, but was cut off when both Kakashi and I smacked the back of his head at the same time.

"Would you put a lid on it" Kakashi sighed

The hokage started to explain the reason behind the ranking order and the missions. But after about a minute we all stopped listening and Naruto began talking about ramen. It took a moment for the hokage to realize we were no longer listening, but once he did he called us to attention.

"YOU ALWAYS LECTURE ME LIKE YOU'RE MY GRANDFATHER OR SOMETHING! BUT IM NOT THE LITTLE BRAT WHO USED TO PULL PRANKS ALL THE TIME! IM A NINJA NOW AND I WANT A NINJA MISSION!"

After Naruto threw his little mini tantrum, the hokage chuckled.

"So, Naruto wants us to know he's not a little brat anymore, he's a former brat, and he wants a mission" the hokage mused, a thoughtful expression crossed his face.

"Very well, since you are so determined I will give you a c ranked mission. You will be bodyguards on a journey."

I was both pleased and surprised that the hokage gave in so easily to giving us a higher mission that required leaving the village. I was grateful for the chance to have a change in scenery.

"Who?!WHO!? Are we guarding a princess or some big league councilor?!" Naruto asked excitedly. I highly doubted any chance of that happening, we were lucky but not that lucky for two miracles to happen in one day.

The hokage called for the person we were supposed to be protecting to be sent in, and to be honest, the last person I expected was an old guy nearly drunk out of his mind almost stumbling through the door.

'I can already tell this won't end pretty' I inwardly cringed

"What the- A bunch of little snot nosed kids!" the old guy slurred out grumpily before chugging down most of the sake from the bottle he was holding.

"- and who's the short kid with the idiotic look on his face?" he continued

Naruto started laughing and joking about it, until he realized that out of all four of us he was indeed the shortest, I was a little taller than him but shorter than Sakura by a few inches making me third, Sakura second and Sasuke the tallest which I kinda expected. That caused Naruto to lose his temper quick and start to threaten the client, only to be held back by Kakashi before he could do any harm.

"You can't demolish the client Naruto, things don't work that way" My brother sighed irritated  
After finishing the bottle the client started talking, but I pretty much ignored everything he said after he told us his name .

'So he's that bridge builder from the land of waves. I'm surprised he got here without a bunch of mercenary's trailing him' I thought as my eyes narrowed at the bridge builder. I was going to assume the hokage had no idea the amount of trouble this guy was in for what he was doing since he was sending us on this mission.

Two hours later…

We were already a few miles away from the leaf heading towards the land of waves when Sakura started asking question after question about things their 'academy' should have taught them about places and people outside Konoha. I stayed at the back at the group incase of any surprise attacks, when a quite big puddle of water ahead of us had caught my attention.

'well that's odd, it couldn't have possibly have rained here for weeks' I sniffed the air briefly, confirming the lack of moisture in the air. My attention snapped to it when the puddle moved, and I sensed it a second before it happened

"GET BACK!" I shouted just as two figures jumped out the puddle. I barely noticed Naruto freeze up when a cloned Kakashi was torn to shreds but my reflexes kicked in when I saw the two mercenaries go after the blonde.

I jumped in-between them, and with as much strength as I could muster slammed both of my fists into the chests of the masked men. They were hurled back by the blow, but they didn't relent. I stood my ground as they began to recover, only to have a shuriken fly towards the chain linking the two mercenaries together and lodge itself into the tree behind them. I glanced from the corner of my eye to see Sasuke throw a kunai to secure the shuriken in place. Naruto was still shaking as Sasuke attacked the two killers.

"Damn it Naruto! Snap out of it!" I said pulling out two kunai. Pinky focused on protecting Tazuna but as soon as the mercs released the chain, one ran after them while the other charged at Naruto and I. Although Sakura stood her ground she was clearly shaking and panicking.

I glanced at Sasuke only for a brief second, but all it took in that second was our eyes connecting and the slightest nod from him for me to know he could handle the other ninja. But just as they attacked, the real Kakashi made his appearance, trapping both of the rouges in a headlock. I raised an eyebrow as Kakashi held his 'I'm such a badass' pose.  
"Was that really necessary you showoff?" I muttered annoyed as I put the kunai away. Saukra squealed as Naruto looked in shock between Kakashi and the pile of wood that was moments before the bloody remains of the substitute Kakashi.

"Sorry I didn't help you Naruto, I just didn't know you would freeze up like that" Kakashi said as he looked at him. "Sasuke, Karai, good work you two. You as well Sakura"  
I looked at Naruto and helped him up.

"Hey Naruto" we both looked at Sasuke, who at first seemed genuine enough, but it took me a second before I saw that glint of mischief in his eyes. "You aren't hurt are you, scaredy cat?"

Naruto, for the third time today, was pretty much about to pop a blood vessel with how angry he looked, but I was able to hold him back when I grabbed his wrist.

"if you keep letting people get to you like that, you certainly won't live long enough to come even close to becoming hokage." I sighed as he strugged to get out of my grip.

"Naruto you need to stop moving. The poison in your system will only circulate through your bloodstream faster" Kakashi said as I let him go. He froze before he began to panic.

"We might need to open the wound more and get some of the tainted blood out" I calmly said as I looked at the three scratches that crossed the surface of Naruto's hand. Meanwhile Kakashi tied the two mercenaries to a tree and began to interrogate them.

We were able to find out that they were chunin from the hidden mist village. And from what I knew about that village, they were specialized in relentless attack, making them especially annoying for opponents

"How did you know about the ambush?" one of them asked

"A puddle of that size in the middle of an area where it hadn't rained for weeks?" Kakashi pointed out.

"In that case, why did you leave the genin to do the fighting?" Tazuna grunted, and I realized Kakashi had finally came to the same conclusion I had earlier. He told them why he didn't fight right before confronting Tazuna on not being completely honest when he made his protection request.

"M-maybe we should go back. This mission is clearly too dangerous for our level, and we really need to get Naruto's wound treated" Sakura meekly stated.

'Of course you of all people would suggest that, pepto princess.' I thought, but only sighed aloud.

Everyone's attention turned to Naruto, when he suddenly stabbed a kunai into the scratch in his palm, causing more blood to flow from his hand. He then started yelling about not being weak and finishing the mission and yada yada yada. You can basically tell I wasn't listening to his monologue all that much, but I was at least glad to see that both Naruto and Sasuke wanted to finish what they stared, even though Sakura didn't.

Naruto started having another panic attack once more, realizing that he was losing too much blood. I watched as Kakashi and Sakura tried to calm him down, but it only resulted in a scene of hilarity that Tazuna, Sasuke, and I were left to witness.

"… We're doomed aren't we?"  
"Took those words right out my mouth Mr. Tazuna. wouldn't you agree Uchiha?"  
"Hn"  
"…I'll take that as a yes…."


	6. Eyes on Fire

It was later into the day when team 7 met with the sailor who would take them to the country shore. Unfortunately for Karai, the boat was a bit too small for its six passengers plus the boat owner, which left her a bit too close between Tazuna and Kakashi. She fidgeted in the small space continuously, feeling anxiety settle in the cramped space.

"What's wrong with you?" Tazuna asked as he noticed her shifting.

"It's nothing, I'll be fine." she said shortly, the look on her face saying otherwise, but the old man didn't bring it up

"This fog is so thick, you can barely see anything" Sakura said lowly

"The bridge isn't far now, our destination is just up ahead; the land of waves" the boat owner said to them shortly after.

The fog finally cleared as the bridge came into view. Karai looked up as they passed the partially built bridge. Even in its unfinished state the grand structure towered over the small boat.

"WOAH! It's huge!" Naruto suddenly yelled into the calm silence.

" Quiet! I said no noise! Why else would we be traveling like this?! No engine, rowing by hand and moving through the thick fog? Its so we wont be seen!" the boatman's harsh tone made Naruto go silent

"In a way it's beautiful" Karai spoke softly looking up at the grand structure.

"It's just a bridge" came the unexpected comment from Sasuke. Karai turned her head and looked at him.

"Not all beauty comes from physical attributes. To know what this will do for the people in this country, how much better their lives can become just because of its existence makes it beautiful all in itself."

As she looked back at the bridge Sasuke glanced at her momentarily, his monotone expression momentarily replaced with an increasingly curious gaze before turning away. Karai didn't notice it, but Sakura did and Karai chose to ignore the piercing glare sent her way by the pinkette.

'what's her problem?' Karai briefly questioned before she decided the answer wasn't worth her time thinking about it.

As they drew closer to land Tazuna told them of Gato and his dark nature, and what the bridge would do to his business if Tazuna finished it. That was of course before he tried to guilt trip them into still protecting him despite his lies. Karai once more tuned him out as a bad feeling began to grow within her instinct.

The uncomfortable feeling did not go away, infact it only seemed to grow as they reached the shore. Tazuna thanked the boat man before he left, leaving the rest of them to finish the journey to Tazuna's home. As they walked Naruto began to waste his kunai throwing them around with a paranoid expression. It didn't catch Karai's interest really until Naruto did actually hit something in one of the bushes they had passed.

The initial reaction to the white rabbit that was pulled out was shock, though it didn't show much on Karai's face, but as Sakura started hitting Naruto the red eyed girl stopped her.

"Enough, we have bigger problems to deal with"

It was as she said that a giant blade came flying at their heads. Karai by instinct pushed down the person closest to her as Kakashi yelled, before ducking herself. The person she happened to be closest to was Sakura, and she did not seem to look all that happy about it. However if Karai had even noticed she did not address it, choosing instead to keep her focus on the large blade that had sliced into a tree, then on the man who jumped onto it. Immediately Karai recognized the masked figure upon the blade and a small smirk formed onto her face.

'this should be interesting' Karai thought

Naruto, who had a look on his face that would get himself into trouble, charged at Zabuza as he got ready to attack, but once more Kakashi pulled him back.

"Stand down, Naruto. This is on a whole other level than anything you're prepared for" Kakashi spoke as he and the mercenary glared at each other.

Slowly one of Kakashi's hands moved towards his covered eye, making everyone besides Zabuza and Karai look at him oddly.

"Kakashi of the sharingan eye… did I get that right?" Zabuza mocked with a subtle sneer evident under his partial mask

Sasuke looked at Kakashi with a glare as Naruto, Sakura and Tazuna continued their confused glance.

"Everyone keeps saying Sharingan sharingan, what the heck does that mean!?" Naruto finally yelled out his aggravation.

Sasuke was able to explain his clan's hereditary ability briefly with Zabuza further making emphasis on its abilities. Afterward it seemed however Zabuza was at his limit of patience.

"Enough talking. Its time I eliminate the old man, but it seems I'll have to kill you first, Kakashi Hatake"

Tazuna's eyes widened in panic as team 7 formed a shield around him, leaving Kakashi to fight Zabuza on his own. The demon mercenary disappeared as the mist surrounding them thickened. "this fog is getting thicker and thicker" Naruto awed

"well if we fail all we'll lose is our lives" Kakashi said casually

"How can you say that so calmly?!" Sakura snapped as her anxiety rose with every passing moment

"That's life in this business, Haruno; you learn to deal with it." Karai said fully realizing their lack of experience outside of their schooling.

'If anything happens to Kakashi, I'll have to keep them out of this fight for as long as possible. They'll have a chance if I can make him weak enough,' she thought. She could feel the anxiety of her teammates rising as the tension in the air grew.

' Good luck Kakashi-san, you might just need it in a fight like this…'

a/n- im soooo sorry for the wait and that this chapter is kinda filler, and i know this is definitely not the best thing ive written. I had made it with the intention of being longer but I figured I would cut it here instead and do the rest in the next chapter. Plus that will have my first real fight scene! And I'm just terrified as to how that to turn out.

But as to good news I just turned sixteen and about five contestants have entered my amv contest, which is still open btw. So im glad if you like it, sorry if you don't and favorite this story, follow my page and comment!

P.S.- See if any of you can guess Karai's real powers. They're not exactly normal but I promise she is not anything close to an intentional mary-sue and I fully intend to make her as realistic with them as possible. But she isn't called Phoenix for nothing…


	7. From Shadows

_Everyone has their secrets. The funny thing is that despite how much darkness is feared, it's the one place we keep our secrets hidden from the world. But there are times when those secrets you would do anything to destroy come back to haunt you. Lies cannot exist without a truth to be told, same way that darkness cannot reign without the absence of light, and eventually to keep that balance even the things we wish to bury are brought out to the light. For what very few realize is that darkness is not the same as evil nor is light the same as good, but they must maintain a balance through whatever means necessary._

_Darkness is not to be feared, but it is not to be trusted either. Approach with caution but without hesitation or selfish intention. Embrace what others fear and only then can power be summoned , but once mortal weakness shines though that is when the shadows will seek to consume and destroy you and everything that you are…_

_This is the essence of darkness. This is the power of Dark style._

More mist began to cloud the area to the point where most could barely see without squinting.

"8 points…" Zabuza hissed from the mist, causing Sakura to jump in surprise at his voice; "larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidneys, heart. Now, which one should I go for first?"

Sasuke's heart began to accelerate with his breathing to the point where he was slipping quickly into a panic attack. It was only as a hand gripped his wrist that he snapped out of it. He turned his head only to be met with piercing red eyes that were meant to stun the victim of the stare.

"Calm down, you're not alone here." the amount of assurance that came from one with eyes so threatening was surprising, and his rationality took over from fear once more. As soon as the hand had gripped him it let go, and what had felt like a minute was barely a brief second as Team 7 waited for their enemy to make his move.

"It's over"

The attack was so sudden had it been detected an instant later it would have been too late. The four genin scattered away as Zabuza attacked, Karai acting as Tazuna's second line of defense as Kakashi stood in Tazuna's place, his kunai deep in the water clones stomach.

After that point the fight between the Sensei and the Mercenary quickly escalated, turning into a full out duel within an instant. Kakashi seemed to have the upper hand despite the disadvantage given by the environment, only to make the slightest mistake that ended with him trapped inside the water prison by Zabuza

Zabuza stood triumphantly as he stared down the four genin and his target as Kakashi tried to get his students to leave before they got hurt or killed.

"Run! Forget me and protect the bridge builder and yourselves, Zabuza can't track you without releasing me from this prison!" he yelled.

'I thought I'd heard every stupid thing that could possibly come from you Kakashi, but that was a new one.' Karai thought as she used the time to evaluate the situation she had be dragged into. Coming up with some sort of plan seemed almost impossible since it looked like Zabuza was going to attack them at any moment, but even then Karai didn't have to wait any longer for something to happen. For then the young Uchiha had taken the time to attack the mercenary first, determination etched in his face as he pulled out a kunai. Zabuza swung at Sasuke, only for the genin to jump out the way to attack from above.

"Predictable" Zabuza muttered as he deflected the attack and caught the Uchiha by the throat.

Things were not looking good for Sasuke, even as Zabuza's grip tightened with every passing second his lungs were deprived of air. Sakura cried out Sasuke's name as he struggled in the mercenaries hold. Just as he was about to slip into unconsciousness Zabuza threw him back into the group, only for a pair of arms to grab him by the waist before he hit the ground, setting him down as he gasped for air.

"We need a plan, i will hold him back from you three and Tazuna for as long as possible. Can i count on you to get Kakashi out of that prison while Zabuza's distracted?"

" Y-yeah but-" Naruto started, only for Karai to ignore his protest and separate from the group.

"She's right Naruto. We have to plan this out" Sasuke said once he was able to catch his breath. Naruto's hesitant expression changed to determination, and he agreed with a nod. Sakura stood with Zabuza, knowing someone would have to stick by him incase anything went wrong with their strategy.

"I hope I don't regret this" Karai muttered to herself, once again pulling out kunai.

"Don't get involved Karai!" Kakashi tried to persuade her from the fight, only to hear her scoff at him.

"Relax a bit, you'll be out of there soon so don't get too comfortable"

Zabuza eyed the ebony haired girl.

"What makes you think brats like you will make it out of here alive?"

Karai let a sadistic smirk cross her face, "Call it intuition".

Almost reflexively her hands formed the simple signs for shadow clones, only with the addition of a hand sign Zabuza was unfamiliar with. Two clones appeared in puffs of purple smoke, smiling eerily at the merc as his eyes narrowed.

"You think a few clones can stop me kid?"

One of the clones giggled "Let's find out shall we?"

The clone advanced on the mercenary with little warning, only giving him time to swing at the rapidly approaching form aiming for him. The sword hit its target as the metal sliced easily through the body, only to watch the clone combust into purple smoke that seemed to grow as it surrounded Zabuza, hiding his opponents from sight. In front of his small line of vision some of the smoke reformed into another clone, who looked satisfied at his glare.

"Now do you understand Zabuza-sama? " The clone giggled as the other two Karai's reappeared from the smoke.

"We're not so easy to get rid of " the second clone said smirking.

"So… Do you still want to play old man?" Karai asked

His eyes narrowed dangerously, but Karai didn't look the least bit intimidated, matching his murderous stare with a sadistic gleam of her own.

**"****I'll enjoy ripping you apart, Brat"**


	8. Light Is Blinding

Clash after clash, sparks flew everywhere between the two opposing ninjas as they matched each other in battle. Although Zabuza had the obvious advantage in strength and weaponry, Karai was smaller and impressively faster, leaving the two at a stalemate the did not relent. Zabuza had been able to eliminate the two clones pretty quickly, but more were easily dispersed, the four of them emerging from the bursts of purple smoke. Things began to change as Zabuza was still relentlessly trying to get to Tazuna and her comrades but as soon as he cut down one clone two more would form in its place. He began to find it harder to keep his focus and missed his targets more and more. Karai and her clones we able to notice his change quickly and aimed more coordinated attacks.

Sasuke was the first to notice that besides the clones neither side had used anything outside of taijutsu to fight, and by the frustration and growing rage Zabuza tore through his movements it must have had something to do with the purple smoke that came from Karai's clones. They were draining Zabuza somehow and just as Naruto caught on to what was happening he too summoned a mass of clones to further barricade Zabuza. All with kunai in hand they easily overwhelmed him only for them to be pushed back and scattered by the swing of a furious Zabuza's blade

"I've had it with you brats!" The clones burst into smoke, and while the real Naruto remained intact Karai was nowhere to be seen, though the purple mist did clones were scattered into remaining puffs of smoke when Naruto threw a large four-bladed shuriken to Sasuke. Extending it to its full size he released it with full-bodied strength as it headed toward Zabuza at an alarming rate. With a smirk of arrogance, Zabuza moved out of its way when a second Shuriken, hidden in the shadows of the first, continued on its seemingly inevitable path to Zabuza.  
Sakura gasped audibly when Zabuza didn't even flinch in catching the second blade, but that did not seem to surprise Sasuke, who smirked in anticipation. Then, the two blades were replaced by Naruto and his clone heading straight towards the real Zabuza, while the purple smoke that surrounded the Zabuza clone reformed into Karai, taking the clone by surprise when its guard was let down swiftly took a kunai straight into its neck through its jugular. Unable to keep his defense up maintaining the prison the real Zabuza released Kakashi to block Naruto and Sasuke's attack.

Sakura gasped audibly when Zabuza didn't even flinch in catching the second blade, but that did not seem to surprise Sasuke, who smirked in anticipation. Then, the two blades were replaced by Naruto and his clone heading straight towards the real Zabuza, while the purple smoke that surrounded the Zabuza clone reformed into Karai, taking the clone by surprise when its guard was let down swiftly took a kunai straight into its neck through its jugular. Unable to keep his defense up maintaining the prison the real Zabuza released Kakashi to block Naruto and Sasuke's attack.  
Karai released a quiet breath of relief as Kakashi proceeded to copy Zabuza's justus'. With his chakra still weakened from her poison Zabuza was left overwhelmed and outmatched by Kakashi. However, the seemingly inevitable victory on the part of team 7 was halted abruptly as a pair of senbon needle stabbed through the air and jabbed itself harshly into the mercenary's neck, leaving him deathly still and without breath or pulse. Shocked at the interruption the group looked up from where the needle was thrown to see a silent masked figure amongst the trees.

Karai released a quiet breath of relief as Kakashi proceeded to copy Zabuza's justus'. With his chakra still weakened from her poison Zabuza was left overwhelmed and outmatched by Kakashi. However, the seemingly inevitable victory on the part of team 7 was halted abruptly as a pair of senbon needle stabbed through the air and jabbed itself harshly into the mercenary's neck, leaving him deathly still and without breath or pulse. Shocked at the interruption the group looked up from where the needle was thrown to see a silent masked figure amongst the trees.

' What is an ANBU ninja doing here? His timing… something isn't right about this' A stony glare set of Karai's face as the ninja chuckled.

"You were right… It was his last battle"

Naruto growled frustratedly as Kakashi checked his pulse "No vital signs" He muttered

"I must thank you, I've been tracking Zabuza for quite some time, waiting for an opportunity to take him down" The tracker continued

."By your mask, I see that you're a tracker from the village Hidden in the Mist"

"Impressive," the masked boy said to Kakashi, "You're well informed."

What! A tracker!" Naruto was more than ready to fight the young boy but Karai grabbed him before he was more than ready to charge.

'While I might applaud his instincts in knowing something was off, I have a feeling that…'

"Naruto, you don't even know what a tracker is! You missed that lesson." Sakura finished Karai's though surprisingly well, continuing on to explain what trackers were.

'From his size and voice, he must be about the same age as Naruto, yet he's an elite assassin. He's no ordinary kid, but what is he?' Kakashi thought as he finished checking over the body.

Karai's grip on Naruto painfully tightened with a short "Don't" whispered to him that made him stop short. The Masked boy, turned his focus onto the pale girl, who remained undisturbed by his gaze but did not relent in her glare.

"Who do you think you are?!" Naruto shouted, the ANB, turning his attention back to the blonde.

"Naruto, he's not the enemy"

"B-But Zabuza was huge and this- he just… He's just a kid,so what does that make us!" Naruto stuttered and stammered angrily.

"Normal"

Everyone's attention turned to Karai.  
"There's always going to someone stronger, faster, better unless you know what the best is and strive to beat it. Whether or not you agree with it did happen, and that's fine. This could have gone a lot worse in the long run."

"There is going to be others out there who are younger than you, but stronger than me" Kakashi agreed ruffling Naruto's hair. The masked boy jumped from the tree and picked up Zabuza's body with the explanation that he must destroy the body to prevent its secrets getting into the wrong hands.

"Please excuse me. Farewell" The boy disappeared once more with a swirl of wind, and as Karai let go of Naruto he punched the ground repeatedly in anger.

"We're nothing! I can't believe this!" Naruto shouted

"Naruto…" Sakura softly said as Kakashi grabbed him again.  
"Save your anger for the next fight Naruto. Besides we still Haven't completed our mission yet "The sensei let go.  
"HeHe! Sorry I put you through all this trouble! You can rest at my house once we get there!" Tazuna piped up nervously under the glare Karai sent his way.  
"Well… Let's get going" Kakashi stated and Karai sighed as she predicted Kakashi's collapse.  
"3...2...1.." Not even a step later did all the energy drain from Kakashi as he dropped unconscious. The rest of team 7 and Tazuna ran to him worriedly why Karai calmly checked him over.  
"What happened!?"  
"Kakashi Sensei!"

"He's going to be fine," Karai said after a moment longer of checking him for injuries, "Baka just overused his Sharingan on top of his exhaustion and minor injuries, rest will improve his condition, but we might be around for a while"

Kakashi groaned quietly in the night, slightly disoriented and tired but well enough to recognize he was in a bedroom lying on a cot. He looked to his side, where his younger sister sat quietly and looked back with glowing red eyes contrasting with the dark room.

"You were stupid to push yourself so harshly" Karai scolded softly as to not wake anyone

"What else was I supposed to do? Let them get hurt?" Kakashi groaned out a reply

"No, but this isn't worth it. I won't hesitate to reveal the extent of my power if it means keeping you, and by extension them, alive."  
Quietly she got up and placed a hand on Kakashi's forehead, removing it once she found he no longer had a fever.

"Tazuna's daughter will look after you in the morning. The others are in the next two rooms on this floor of the house. I said I would keep an eye on you in case something went wrong, but you should sleep fine since you've finally woken up from all that excess strain on your body. I'll rest outside until sunrise" She walked over to the window and pushed it open, only pausing halfway through climbing out when Kakashi called out to her weakly.

"I'm only trying to keep you out of danger. Guy, The Hokage and I are the only ones who know what you are capable of. Once you can trust the others maybe then you can use your gifts more freely, but if the elders find out-"

"What's it like? Having hope?" Karai cut him off, "Do you really think three kids, let alone sheltered city kids, one of which hasn't had to suffer a day in her perfect little life, could understand? Accept what I am? Everything must be perfect in your little world, but in mine? The brightest option is nothing but a blinding anything, they might be the first ones to out me to the elders and get me killed"

Karai avoided looking at the hurt expression worn on her brother's face, suddenly feeling guilt for the harshness of her words, and stepped out the window into the quiet night. She jumped down to the front steps before finding a spot to rest, only pure exhaustion preventing her thoughts and the dark emotions of those around her from keeping her awake.


End file.
